Gun turret



May 9 1944. R. FINK GUN TURRET lFiled Aug. e, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 9, 1944 GUN TURRET Rudolph Fink,y Dayton, Ohio Application August 6, 1941, serial No. 405,674V

7 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in f gun turrets and more particularly to a turret oflthe type in which the gun is mounted in a wall :or-other relatively fiat surface for pivotal movement in all directions. The turret is provided with shielding plates which normally lie in the plane of the wall but which are swung out of the plane thereof when the gun is swung from side to side so as to enable a wide angle of fire for the gun and a wide and unobstructed eld of view for the gunner.

vMy invention is designed primarily for use on Vlarge aircraft where it is desirable to mount guns .atvarious positions in the fuselage so as to protect the airplane from attack in all directions. -In the prior art devices it has been customary fto providea turret in the form of a blister or a 4bulbifor'm structure extending from the wall of the fuselage, this being considered necessary in order to provide a wide angle of fire for the gun and a wide eld of View for the gunner. These blisters, however, have 'the disadvantage of interfering with the' smooth ow of air along the sides of the fuselage andalso Vin rexposing' the gunner Atozthe re of enemy aircraft. With my improved form.A of turret, howver, the shielding plates thereof lie Ynormally in the plane of the fuselage wall and, therefore, offer no obstruction tothe ow of air along the fuselage. When the gun is swung ina fore and aft direction, the shielding plates move therewith but are so arranged as to maintain atight seal of the fuselage wall against the entry of the. high velocity air from the slip stream. At the same time the gunner remains within the confines of the fuselage which may be armored within the vicinity ofthe turret so as to protecthim from enemy gunfire.

s One of the objects of my invention is, therefore, to provide a turret for mounting a gun in a Wall while at the same time rendering possible a wide angle of fire and a clear and unobstructed field of view in all directions.

A further object of my invention is to provide an; improved gun turret for use on aircraft which does not interfere with the smooth flow ofv air over the surface of the craft. This is accomplished by arranging the shielding plates to normally lie within the contour of the surface in which the gun is mounted so as to cause no unnecessary interference with the streamlining-*of the,p1arie. t

(Granted under the act of'March 3, 188.3;as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G.

A further object of my invention is to provide a turret for use on aircraft in which the gunners position is within the connes'of a normal airplanel structure,thus greatly facilitating the protection of the gunner by the use of armor plate. This is done without sacrificing-"in any way his clear field of vision in all directions.

Still a further object of my invention is to provide a gun turret which is simple in design -and easily constructed while, at the same time, possessing all of the desirable features pointed out above and inthe description which follows.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be hereinafter. described with reference to the accompanying drawings given primarily by way of example in which: Y

Figure 1 is a general view of my improved form of turret installed'in the side of an airplane fuselage. -f Figure 2 is a plan view of the installation shown in Figure 1, the upper sealing plate being .Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 with the gun swung out of its normal position, the latter position being shown in dot-dash lines.

Figure 4 is a detailed View of the means for pivoting the gun about a horizontal axis so as to enable the elevation oridepression of the gun. In this gure the gun is shown with the barrel partly withdrawn from its mounting cylinder.

Figure 5 is a view showing the details of the installation of my turret in the wall of the airplane fuselage. fr n .Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement of a hydraulic mechanism which may be'used for operating the gun through its horizontal traverse;

Figure 1 shows the general larrangement of my turret .as mounted -in the side of an airplane fuselage I. As shown in this gure and in Figures 2 and 3, the gun, indicated generally at 2, is mounted with its vbarrel 3 projecting through approximatelyy the center of a transparent plate 4. This putters in turn 'pivoted in the frame of the airplane about a vertical axis passing through its center. l To the opposite sides of thc plate 4 are hinged-the 'wing plates 5-and6 by means of hinges 'I and 8. The outer ends of the wing plates are provided with pins which'slide in tracks provided in the air-plane frame so that when the `gun is swung ina fore and'aftdirection,as shown in Figure 3, these pins allow the outer ends of thawing plates to slide inward toward the gun and to pivot about the pins as will be necessary when the center plate 3 is rotated. To the outer edge of each of the wing plates is fastened a sealing plate 9 by means of a hinge I6. Upper and lower sealing plates I I and I2, lying immediately above and below the plates 4, 5 and 6 and extending at right angles from the sides of the fuselage, serve to prevent the air from the slip stream from entering the fuselage through the openings created above and below the shielding plates when the gun moved as shown in Figure 3.

The gun is pivoted in the center plate 4 for cylinder I3 provided with trunnions I5 and I6. A hole I4 bored through the cylinder at right angles to the longitudinal axis thereof receives the barrel 3 of the gun. The trunnions I5 and I6 are journalled in` a mounting plate I'Iv which is mounted in an aperture in plate 4 by means of the arrangement shown in Figure 4;. As there Vshown the plate I1. 'is provided. with a flanged 4portion |.8 extending around its four Sides so es. to provide a bearing surface against plate 4 Bolts I9r extend through holes provided in. the flanges I6 and through matching holes provided around the edges of the aperture cut in the plate 4. A back plate 2071s located on the inner side of plate 4., thebolts 1.9, extending through suitable holes in this plate and the assembly being then clamped securely to the center plate 4 Vby means of these bolts. Gaskets 2| formed of resilient material are` provided between the Surfaces of plates. l1. and 2.0 and the plate 4 so as to tightly seal the joint. and, in addition, to act as a shock absorbing Cushion..

The. center plate 4 may 'be made out of a transparent plastic such as Plexiglas or out of any other suitable transparent material. The Wing plates 5 and 6 maybe made either out of a transparentV material or, if additional protection for thegunner isdesired they may be constructed of armor plate. The `sealing plates El are preferably constructed of steel or armor plate. The upper and lowensealing platesII and I2 may be made of a material such asv Plexiglas, if it is desired to increase the held of vision in an upward and downward direction, or tneseplates may be made of bullet-,proof steel in order toY kafford greater protection to the gunner.

The details of the manner in whichtmy turret is mounted in the airplane fuselage may be seen by referring to Figure 5.Y As. there shown the center plate 4 isprovided on its upper and lower edges with trunnions 22 and 23 which are journelle@ in holes. provided inthe upper and lower Sealing platee. L2. encima. and in the turret-supporting frame 24. Thisturret-supporting frame may be secured to the bulkheads 25. of the `air- Plone fuselage es. shown in Figure 5.. nach of the wing platesY 5 and 6 is provided with two pinsV 26 slidingA slots 2.1 formed in the upper and lower sealing` plates I2 and I3, The plates 9 are likewise si'ipplied4 with pins 23 which slide in lexten-4 sions of slots` 2'I provided within thefuselage of the airplane. These. extensions may consist of channels formed in the supporting structure 24 which cha nnels, of course, line up .with the slots provided in the sealing plates so. as to provide one continuous'tracl; for each of the pivot pins.

Itwill now be seen that When the gunner swings his gun in either a fore o.: aft direction the center Plate 4 will swing about the trunnions 22 .and 23. the isnjroved in the vertical direction, the cylinder--` I3. will rotate. on its. trunnions I5 and I6. Tnus, the gun 'may be moved in any desired direction. It will be seen that when the gun is swung about the trunnions 22 and 23, the center plate 4 will move with it thus affording the gunner a clear eld of view no matter what the extent of this movement might be. It should also be noticed that the gunners line of vision will always be at right angles to the plane of the plate 4 thus removing the possibility of his vision being impaired by reflections on the glass or by l ripples on the surface thereof.

Since movement of the gun in a fore and aft direction will be influenced by the slip stream from the propellers, some means must be provided to overcome this factor. For this purpose a hydraulic mechanism such as that shown in Figure 6 may be provided. It will be unnecessary to provide any power means for moving the gun in a vertical direction since there will be no unbalance created by the slip stream in this respect. kAs shown in Figure 6 the breech of the gun 29 is provided. With two trigeernendles. 30 and 3l, tneformer of. Whien iS. integral witntne breech 29 and the latter oflwhlich is pivoted thereon at 3.2- A bracket 33 Supported on the. breech Vcarnes the frame 34 of. .a balanoedoil valvev having two pistons S5 annie-g .These pistone are fastened to a rod 31 which passes through the left-hand Well of the frame. Mend, is pivoted at 38 to the trigger handle 3|. Two oil ports 3.9` and 40 are provided inthe wall o f the cylinder 34, these ports beingconnected by flexible conduits 4I and 42 with two ports43 and 44I provided in the Cylinder 45 of', a hydraulic piston, The piston head 46 is attached to one end of a shaft 4'I which extends through the left-hand wall of 45 and is connected at its other end, by a pivot joint 48, with an arm 119. rigidly secured to the center plate 4. The hydraulic cylinder 451 is pivotally connected at its rig-htehand end to ann aircraft frame member 5.0 by means or a pivot j oint 5I. A pump 5.2 is provided. toeunnlythe. hydraulic uuid under pressure to the balanced oil valve 34 which, in turn, controlsthe ovv of the fluid to the hydraulic pisi'fgnn5,.v Ari oil supply reservoir 5.3 is provided," the intake o f the pump 52 drawing oil from the bottom of this reservoir Aup through a pipe 54 and their forcing Ql through a pipe 55. into thel casing 34 of the oil valve through a port 56. Two oil return ports 51 and 58 are pro vided in the casing 34 to allow the return oil to flowthrough a pipe 5,9 into the top of the reservoir 53.

The operationA of the hydraulic mechanism islas follows:

Whenthe gunner moves. the triggerhandle 3I to the lefnin Figure '6; .in order to move the barrel 3 ofI the gun toV the. right, the. pistons .35and 36 of the valve 34..V will likewise be moved to theleft by the rod 3l. This will cause the port39 to be uncovered and Vpermit the. pressure oil delivered to the space in between the'pistons 35 and 36 by the pump 52 torow through the tube4l, andenterthe cylinder 45 on the right-hand side of the piston 46. This will, ofcourse, cause. .the piston 46 and the rod 41 tomove tojtheleftthusswinging the muzzle of the gun tothe. right about the pivots 22 andv 213. At the same time the piston 36 uncovers the port. 39., the companion piston 35 will uncover the port 4,0. and thus permit -the oil from the left-hand side of the piston 46 4to flow through lune tube 42 intoA the right-hand end of the oil valve 3.4 and then out through 'the port58 intothe. discharge pipe59.

When the gunner moves the trigger handle @I to the right as viewed in Figure 6, the piston 35 of the oil valve will uncover the port'40 and permit the pressure oil from the pump 52 to pass through the tube 42 and into the left-hand end of the hydraulic cylinder 45. 'I'his will move the piston 46 and the rod 41 to the right and swing the muzzle of the gun to the left about the pivots of plate 4. At the same time ,the piston 36 will uncover the port 39 of the oil valve and permit the oil on the right-hand side of piston 46 to ow through the tube 4| into the left-hand` side of the valve casing 34 and out through the port 51 into the discharge pipe 59.

The oil supply reservoir 53 and the pump 52 are preferably mounted to move with the gun and hence the conduits 55 and 59 are shown as rigid tubing. l

Hence, by a slight movement of theV trigger handle 3| in a direction opposite to that in which it is desired to move the muzzle of the gun, the hydraulic system just described will cause this movement to take place with but slight eifort on the part of the operator. 'I'he pressure against the .barrel of the gun and against the plates 3, 4 and 5 due to the slip stream is thus overcome by a power mechanism operated under the control of the gunner. The speed with which the muzzle is moved in either direction will depend upon the extent of movement of the handle 3|. If it is desired to move the gun rapidly in either direction it is only necessary to move the handle to the extreme right or left. To elfect a small movement or a slow-turning movement of the gun, the handle is moved only a short distance in the appropriate direction. Vertical movements of the gun are effected by the operators pulling down or lifting up on the trigger handles 30 and 3l. Since there will be no unbalance in a vertical direction due to the slip stream of the propeller, no resistance will be encountered to these movements and, hence, no power mechanisrn will be necessary to aid the gunner in moving the gun in this direction.

While for purposes of illustration I have shown my gun turret positioned in the side of an aircraft fuselage, it is obvious that it could be used in various other positions in the airplane structure. My invention may also nd other uses than as an aircraft turret as, for instance, in installations where it is desired that the gun be mounted in a relatively flat wall with the turret plates lying flush with the wall, but at the same time affording a wide angle of re and a clear field of view in all directions. It is, therefore, to be understood that the form of the invention shown is for purposes of illustration only and that I intend to be limited only by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A turret for pivotally mounting a gun in a wall or other substantially flat surface comprising a transparent plate of rectangular shape in which the gun is mounted, said plate normally lying in the plane 0f the wall or other surface and pivoted thereto about its central axis, a rectangular wing plate hinged to each of the free ends of said gun-mounting plate, and a sliding pivot joint between each of the outer ends of said wing plates and said Wall whereby said gunmounting plate may rotate about its central axis and said wing plates may pivot and slide along said wall when the gun and its mounting plate are rotated about said central axis.

Gif

2. A turret for pivotally mounting a gun in a wall or `other substantially flat surface comprising a transparent plate of rectangularshape V normally lying in the plane of the wall or other surface and pivoted thereto about its central axis, a gun-supporting member pivotally mounted in'approximately the center of said plate for movement about an axis located at right angles to said central axis, a rectangular wing plate hinged to each of the free ends of said transparent plate, and a sliding pivot joint between each of the outer ends of said wing plates and said wall whereby transverse movement of the gun and its supporting member with respect to saidV central axis may cause said transparent plate to rotate aboutthe central axis and said wing'plates to pivot and slide along said wall.

3. A turret for pivotally mounting a gun in a wall or other substantially flat surface comprising a transparent plate of rectangular shape normally lying in the plane of the wall or other surface and pivoted thereto about its central axis, a gun-supporting member pivotally mounted in approximately the center of said plate for movement about an axis located at right angles to said central axis, a rectangular wing plate hinged to each of the free ends of said transparent plate, a sliding pivot joint between each of the outer ends of said wing plates and said wall, and a pair of sealing plates secured in said wall immediately above and below said transparent plate and said wingr plates and located at right angles thereto, whereby transverse movement of the gun and its supporting member with respect to said central axis may cause said transparent plate to rotate about the central axis and said wing plates to pivot and slide along said wall without destroying the seal between said plates and said wall.

4. A turret for pivotally mounting a gun in a wall or other substantially flat surface comprising a transparent plate of rectangular shape normally lying in the plane of the wall or other surface and pivoted thereto about its central axis, a gun-supporting member pivotally mounted in approximately the center of said plate for movement about an axis located at right angles to said central axis, a rectangular wing plate hinged to each of the free ends of said transparent plate, a sliding pivot joint between each of the outer ends of said wing plates and said wall, a rectangular closure plate hinged to the outer ends of each of said wing plates and guided for sliding movement along said wall, and a pair of sealing plates secured in said wall immediately above and below said transparent plate and said wing plates and located at right angles thereto whereby transverse movement of the gun and its supporting member with respect to said central axis may cause said transparent plate to rotate about the central axis and said wing plates to pivot and slide, and said closure plates merely to slide along said wall without destroying the seal between said plates and said Wall.

5. In a gun turret adapted for installation in any substantially flat surface of an aircraft or other vehicle without altering the contour thereof and at the same time affording a wide field of view for the gunner during firing, the combination of a substantially at, transparent plate normally occupying a co-planar relationship with respect to the flat surface and being pivotally mounted in said vehicle for rotation about an axis located substantially within the plane of said plate, and means-moving with said plate as the latter is rotated about said first-mentioned axis for supporting a gun for movement about an axis located' at right angles to said first-mentioned axis.

6. In a gun turret suitable for installation in any substantially at surface on an aircraft or other vehicle without altering the contour thereof and at the same time affording a Wide and clear eld of View for the gunner during firing, the combination of a substantially at, transparent lplate normally disposed in a co-planar relationship with respect to the iiat surface, said plate being pivotally mounted in said vehicle for rotation about an axis lying substantially Within the plane of said plate, and a gun supporting member pivotally mounted in approximately lthe center of said plate for movement about an axis lying at right angles to said first-mentioned axis and substantially Within the plane of said plate.

' 7. In a gun turret adapted for installation in any substantially flat surface of an aircraft or other vehicle Without altering the straight lines thereof andv at the same time affording a Wide and clear eld of View for the gunner during ring, the Vcombination of a substantially flat, transparent plate normally disposed in a coplanar relationship with respect to the at surface, a gun` supporting member pivotally sen cured to said plate in the central portion thereof for rotation about an axis lying substantially within they plane ofY said plate, andY means for pivotally supporting said plate in said vehicle forrotation about an axis lying substantially Within the plane of said plate and at right angles to said i mst-mentioned axis and passing through said gun supporting member.

RUDOLPH FINK. 

